The BEST episodes of 24 Hours in A&E season 3
Every episode of 24 Hours in A&E season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of 24 Hours in A&E season 3!
Cameras film around the clock in some of Britain's busiest A&E departments, where stories of life, love and loss unfold every day.
#1 - Brief Encounter
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/10/2013
The third series begins with a powerful episode about how our lives can change forever in the blink of an eye. In a shocking random act of violence, a young woman is knocked to the ground after being punched in the face by a stranger on her way home from work. Lying in the street, she's fighting for her life when Andrew, a passer-by, finds her and calls 999. A&E doctor Des has worked at King's for over five years and is rarely shocked by what he sees, but when the unidentified young woman arrives in Resus with life-threatening swelling on her brain, the impact is felt by him and the entire department. Also in Resus is 12-year-old Tom. He was hit by a car on his way home from school and airlifted to King's by HEMS, the helicopter emergency medics. His mum Anna faces an agonising wait as A&E Consultant Emer assesses the extent of the damage to her son's brain. Meanwhile, 90-year-old ex-circus performer Frank is in A&E after collapsing at home. News of his colourful past - including training bears and lifting horses - quickly travels amongst the staff as they try to determine what brought him to King's.
Watch Now:Amazon
#2 - Three Sisters
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/17/2013
The RTS award-winning series continues with a moving and tender episode about three daughters' love for their mother and the fear of losing her. Eighty-year-old Rose has fluid on her lungs and is having trouble breathing. Her three daughters Christine, Sandra and Debbie put on brave faces around their mother's bedside, convincing her that everything will be all right, but in the relatives' room there is high emotion as they tearfully contemplate life without her. Debbie wants to get the grandchildren to the hospital before it's too late, but older sister Sandra thinks all the family being there will make their mum think it's her last rites. Sister Claire, who is looking after Rose, knows only too well the torment the families go through around end of life decisions: 'As doctors and nurses, we have to accept we can't change everything and there's not always a miracle cure,' she says. 'Once you accept it is happening you have to get it right. You can't get dying wrong'. Also in resus is Kevin, a 55-year-old trucker who jack-knifed his lorry, 'bullseyed' the windscreen and rolled down a verge. He was trapped in the wreckage for an hour before being cut free and air lifted to King's by the Kent air ambulance. He has injuries to his pelvis, neck and head. His wife Janet waits anxiously to find out how serious it is.
Watch Now:Amazon#3 - Walk Like a Man
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/22/2013
This episode takes a moving - and sometimes light-hearted - look at when boys become men, and passing the baton between the generations. Twenty-six-year-old Nicholas has been punched in the face in a random attack. His jaw is fractured and dislocated and he can't close his mouth or speak. Consultant craniofacial surgeon Rob, a world-renowned specialist, puts Nicholas's jaw back in place with his 'magic thumb'. Tyrell has damaged his big toe playing football. The 17-year-old's blackened toe nail needs to be removed and his dad, Adrian, uses the opportunity to lecture him that experiencing pain is what separates men from boys and about the importance of knowing his family tree as well as he knows Spanish football. Ho, who's 26, has brought his 78-year-old grandma Amoui to King's after finding her collapsed in her flat. Amoui came to Britain during the Vietnam war and she's been like a mother to Ho. The thought of losing her is almost too much for her grandson to bear. Meanwhile, consultant Rob, the first person in his family to go to university - 'or, for that matter, to do an A level' - recalls his own rite of passage to becoming a man, with his father, who left school at 13 to work in a brick yard to support his family.
Watch Now:Amazon#4 - For Better or Worse
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/26/2013
At King's, husbands and wives reflect on their enduring marriages and the changing nature of love, while the A&E staff talk about the wisdom that comes with experience. Scott is the senior nurse in charge of a very busy shift in Resus. All the beds are full, a trauma has just arrived and an air ambulance trauma is on its way. Pauline, who's 56, has had a fall at home, hitting her head on a table. She smashed her teeth, but the main concern is injury to her spine and neck. Pauline's propensity for accidents is a constant worry for her husband, John. Soon after, the air ambulance brings in satellite and aerial-fitter David from Sussex. The 62-year-old has fallen 30 feet head-first from a roof. He has life-threatening injuries to his head, chest and abdomen. His wife Pam is being blue-lighted into London by the police. Opera critic John and his wife Gudrun are in minors. John injured his leg on a skiing holiday and has pain in his ankle. They've been together for 48 years and John admits the longevity of their relationship probably comes down to his wife being in charge. Meanwhile, window cleaner Alfred, who still works at the age of 78, has had to come to terms with life without Peggy, his wife of nearly 60 years, who recently died in a nursing home.
#5 - Valentine's Day
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/1/2013
It's Valentine's Day and love is in the air at King's College Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department. 'Relationships in A&E, it can go either one way or the other,' says nurse Abbie. 'It can bring people closer together because they get a fright and then they realise that some things actually really don't matter now my partner's sick. But you do see the odd fight.' Father-of-three John, who's 53, was on his way to work when he came off his motorbike and struck a bollard, injuring his shoulder. Frances, his partner of 24 years, is abroad and John doesn't want to spoil her holiday - she worries about him going out on his motorbike every day - so he asks their son not to tell her he's in hospital. 'I'm a psychologist,' says John. 'Some of the work I do is with pain management and I teach particular skills to my clients - none of those skills were of any use to me at that time.' Consultant Graham decides John's pain is so bad that he'll give him ketamine: a sedative so strong it's also used as a horse tranquiliser. Gary is in King's with a bleed on the brain and a suspected stroke. His partner Tracy is at his side to support him. They met at a biker's rally in Kent ten years ago and are still deeply in love. Despite appearances, Gary is a secret softie. Eighty-four-year-old Ronald has been bitten by his dog Benjie while they were playing with a ball. Ronald's wife Cathy passed away after 50 years of marriage; Benjie is his constant companion, and is being very contrite since the accident.
#6 - Mothers & Sons
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 7/3/2013
A powerful episode about the challenges of motherhood and the responsibility of raising sons. Sarah, who's 35, has had a blistering headache for four days. She's finally come in to A&E, worried that a recurring brain tumour she first had as a teenager has returned. Sarah says that, now that she has a young son of her own, the thought of going through it again 'is 100 times more scary.' Forty-seven-year-old mum Helen has come in with her 10-month-old son James who has been vomiting since the morning. James was born prematurely with a hole in his heart and one kidney and spent his first 13 weeks in hospital. Helen is worried that it could be something more serious than a stomach bug. 'With that history you can imagine I would be very protective,' says Helen. 'There was absolutely no way that I was taking any chances with him.' And Wayne, a 28-year-old glazer, has been stabbed twice in the leg as he tried to stop someone stealing his girlfriend's mobile phone outside a pub. His mum Joan reflects on her son's wayward youth and how he has turned his life around. 'It doesn't matter what they've done and what you've gone through, you're always going to be protective about them,' says Joan. 'And here's something happening that you have absolutely no control over.'
#7 - Life Blood
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 8/21/2013
This episode focuses on a young girl who is seriously injured when she's run over by a bus, as well as other pedestrians who've ended up as patients at King's College Hospital in south London. Twelve-year-old Jade from Kent is rushed 20 miles to King's after being hit by a car and knocked under a bus while walking to school. Her shocked mum Amanda travels with her in the ambulance, alongside a police officer. Doctors are concerned that Jade may have fractured her skull and could have internal injuries, so she needs an emergency CT scan to determine the extent of her injuries. Trauma consultant Des and a specialist paediatric team are on hand to deal with Jade's injuries and the staff are conscious that it's hard for her parents too. Just a few hours later, Des has his second road traffic victim of the day. Sixty-year-old Geraldine was on her way home from a shopping trip when she was knocked over by a car while trying to cross the road. Meanwhile, in minors, 40-year-old Brian has broken his ankle after falling while running for a bus. He's recently been released from prison and his electronic curfew tag is attached to his injured leg. His increasingly swollen ankle means it will have to be cut off. And six-year-old Linus has come in with his mum Polly after claiming to have swallowed a toy ring. And much to his mum's surprise, she finds out this isn't the first time he's consumed small metal objects.
#8 - Second Chance
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/8/2013
The series continues with a moving and emotional episode about head injuries and the power of unconditional love. Forty-seven-year-old Chrissie was crossing the road near her home when she was hit by a motorcycle. The side of Chrissie's face took the brunt of the impact and the main concern is potential bleeding behind the eye or in the brain. Her husband Tim struggles to get to the hospital: he's stuck in the traffic jam her accident has caused. Chrissie and Tim first met over 20 years ago. It was love at first sight and Tim proposed almost immediately. But three weeks before the wedding, Chrissie changed her mind, Tim moved out and he never came back. Four years ago Chrissie got in touch looking for closure and they decided, finally, to get married. But could Chrissie's accident jeopardise their second chance of happiness? John is in Resus with a suspected stroke; fortunately, King's specialises in caring for stroke patients. He's confused and doesn't know what year it is. But in spite of his fears about memory loss, John's irrepressible sense of humour shines through. Meanwhile, Benedict, who's 22 and a gifted musician, has come into King's because of his drinking problems: he drinks over 70 units of alcohol a day. Damian, Benedict's dad, finds it difficult to watch the destructive nature of his son's alcoholism; can a father's unconditional love overcome such a terrible disease?
#9 - Tough Love
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 7/31/2013
A young man who has had a severe reaction to a recreational drug is wheeled into Resus by paramedics, and senior sister Jen and the medical team face a challenge to calm their patient down so they can treat him. A 65-year-old woman is brought in by her best friends after hitting her head when she fell off a chair while playing bingo, and a 31-year-old man with multiple sclerosis is rushed in after developing a fever at home
#10 - Head First
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/15/2013
This episode focuses on the worried parents of a young girl who fell dangerously at the diving pool, and the difficult work of the hospital's security team. Eight-year-old Abby hit her head after falling from the steps of a high diving board. The medical team need to scan her head and neck to check for serious injuries. 'Head injury in children always makes me worried,' says Paediatric Intensive Care Consultant Tushar. 'Seeing her getting drowsy was not good; her brain could be under pressure from a blood clot.' Abby's mum Nikki is at her beside, but dad Scott is in Scotland, having missed the last train home. Nikki is putting on a brave face and trying to hold things together for her daughter, but like every parent whose child is injured, inside she's terrified. 'I had to say to her you're going to be fine, you're doing really well, just to get through it,' she says. 'I noticed the sheer look of panic and that bottled-up emotion that every mother has when they're scared,' says Tushar. 'Wanting "please tell me this is going to all be all right". And I can't, because I will not give false hope.' Meanwhile, the hospital security team deals with over 50 incidents every month in A&E, ranging from verbal abuse to assault. Anne and Holton are both working the night shift, dealing with a variety of challenging patients in the hospital.
#11 - No Regrets
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/29/2013
This episode is about living life to the full and not looking back. Forty-seven-year-old Gary was on his motorcycle when he had a head-on collision with a car. The single father of two is a code red trauma and is flown 50 miles to King's by air ambulance. He's on life support with serious head, chest and limb injuries and has been put in a medically-induced coma to reduce the risk of brain damage. A&E consultant Chris is leading a trauma team of 20 and her immediate concern is keeping Gary alive: 'You're thinking what will kill him first... you're always thinking of the chances of survival,' she says. In minors, 69-year-old charmer Steve has a fishbone stuck in his finger. It happened while he was preparing supper for a female friend. 'I was showing off my skills in cooking fish,' he says. 'I got somewhat distracted by her beauty, I just got complacent and that's when it happened.' His fear of pain and needles make it a challenge for the nurse to anaesthetise his finger and remove the bone. A year ago, 58-year-old Terry was diagnosed with lung cancer and given two weeks to live. But Terry's a fighter and won't give up easily. He's in A&E with his friend and carer Sandy, who looked after Terry's identical twin brother, Tom, during his last months and promised she would do the same for Terry.
#12 - A Few Good Men
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/17/2013
The King's medical team deal with challenges ranging from a critically-injured dad to an aggravated prisoner. Staff nurse Graeme is punched and bitten by a prisoner who's been brought in for treatment. The team have to restrain their patient before they can give him the care he needs. Father-of-two Tony, who's 59, is rushed in by helicopter medics after being badly hurt in a head-on road traffic collision. He was trapped in his van and had to be cut free. He has a dislocated hip and a smashed knee and can't feel his right leg, plus he has broken ribs and a collapsed lung. It's especially difficult for his parents: Tony's brother Dean died at King's from a brain haemorrhage when he was 17 and they face the prospect of losing another son at the hospital. Another patient arrives under police escort after a crash following a high-speed car chase. But just as doctors begin to diagnose him, he leaps out of bed and tries to escape. Medical and security staff scramble to catch and restrain him. Meanwhile, 85-year-old Eric has ongoing stomach problems. He and his partner Helen first met in the 1960s, but things didn't work out. They met again by chance at a doctor's surgery almost 30 years later and have stayed together since. And 79-year-old Jim has breathing difficulties. He quickly strikes up a rapport with the female staff and muses on what it means to be a gentleman, how to look after yourself in a fight and the importance of family.
#13 - Grin and Bear It
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 7/24/2013
This episode focuses on the different ways that people deal with pain and how the care and support of friends and family can help you get through almost anything. Motorcyclist Richard, who's 23, is rushed into A&E by helicopter, after colliding with a parked car at speed. He was flung through the air and hit another car's bonnet and a lamppost before landing face-down on the pavement. He's one of over 2500 road traffic accident victims treated by King's College Hospital every year. It's newly-promoted consultant Fleur's first shift in charge of trauma. She sends Richard off for scans to determine the extent of his injuries. They reveal that he has suffered fractures to the sockets and balls of both hips and injured one of his testicles and he'll need surgery to save it. Richard's dad Ian rushes in. He's always worried about his son riding motorbikes, but he did the same when he was younger and feels he would be a hypocrite to object. Bar worker Bobby, who's 22, stood, barefoot, on a broken wine bottle and has a deep cut. His best friend Sophie, who moved to London from Dublin with him, provides moral support and distracts him while junior doctor Ed stitches his foot up. Meanwhile, 75-year-old Sarah has fallen, fracturing her wrist. Doctors are also worried about her irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. But Sarah deals with the pain stoically, supported by her daughter Lorraine and son Kieron, who's forced to acknowledge that his mum isn't as young as she used to be and that their relationship is changing.
#14 - Reality Check
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/24/2013
A powerful cautionary episode about events that shock people into reflecting on the way they live their lives. Thirty-nine-year-old Neil was driving a friend's sports car when he was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. After remaining trapped in the wreckage for over an hour, he's flown by HEMS, the helicopter emergency medics, to King's A&E. The main concern is potential paralysis from injury to his neck and back. Meanwhile in Minors, two patients have come in as the result of daredevil antics. Thomassine, who's 21, is a fledgling skateboarder who was encouraged by her best friend Andre to do a risky stunt in the park after dark and she's badly hurt her ankle. Another patient, 34-year-old Matias, tried to get onto a train after the doors had closed. With his hands trapped, he was dragged along the platform until he managed to pull himself free.
#15 - Live & Let Live
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/4/2013
A touching episode about people living on their own and reaching out to others. Thirty-two-year-old scaffolder Thomas has been struck on the back of the head by a six-metre pole at a building site in South London. He lost consciousness and was convulsing at the scene. Doctors are concerned he may have fractured his skull, spine or neck. Hilton has diabetes and is worried about his swollen legs. At 85, he lives on his own and looks after himself, but he's come to King's with his cousin Earl. Hilton keeps busy putting the world to rights and quipping with his cousin and Nancy, the nurse looking after him. 'I feel as young as ever, I'm quite happy,' says Hilton. 'Never married yet, I don't want nobody to have me pinned down to them. I like to be free.' Retired architect Edgar comes in after suffering an asthma attack. He's struggling to breathe, but A&E doctor Des realises that it's not just asthma that's troubling the 79-year-old. Edgar tells Des that his wife of 45 years, who was a nurse, passed away a few months earlier. He's grieving for her and has no one to turn to, so Des tries to get him some support. And in the waiting room two older women make friends, talk about their life, love and loss and exchange jokes with each other. As one of them points out philosophically, 'Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you sleep alone.'
#16 - Love & Pain
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/12/2013
The RTS Award-winning series continues with an episode about how men deal with pain - whether it's from injury or a broken heart. From fractures, breaks and dislocations to illness brought on by mental anguish, the staff at King's reflect on the different ways in which people deal with physical and emotional pain. 28-year-old Ahmed has dislocated his shoulder in a game of American football and has to grit his teeth while doctor Matt puts it back into place. The relief is immediate and Ahmed leaves A&E with a smile on his face. 'It's like scoring a goal when you manage to get a shoulder back in,' says Matt. 'Or winning £10 on the lottery.' But it's not so straightforward to offer such simple cures to people with long-term illnesses. 24-year-old Lee suffers from Behçet's Syndrome, a condition that affects the nervous system and causes pain so severe he passes out. He's had the disorder for six years and this is his third admission for chronic pain in the past two months alone. But fiancée Meghan is by Lee's side, looking after him. She's the person who keeps him going. 'Without her I don't think I'd be here right now,' says Lee. Meanwhile 30-year-old dad of four Simon is brought in by ambulance after being found unconscious at the bottom of a stairwell. It soon emerges that his partner of 10 years has ended their relationship and he's not eaten for days.
#17 - Duty of Care
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/19/2013
This touching episode explores the responsibility of caring for elderly relatives, while reflecting on the full, and often colourful, lives that some of the older patients at King's have led. Ninety-four-year-old Douglas is a highly decorated Second World War veteran who served in an elite commando unit. He's been brought in to A&E by his youngest daughter Sylvie because his breathing has deteriorated. Sylvie, who's an amputee, has been his full-time carer for the last 20 years. Douglas has four children, 17 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren and a cheeky sense of humour. Another nonagenarian, Hector, has been brought in by ambulance with life-threatening problems: his airway is in danger of collapsing and his blood pressure is dangerously high. Hector is on his own and keeps asking for his grandson, Glen: his only living relative. 'He reckons that the key to long life was to live a decent life and make sure you eat your porridge,' says Glen. 'If my sons are half the man he was I'd still be happy.'
#18 - Under the Influence
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/10/2013
This episode focuses on fall-related and alcohol-related injuries. One in ten patients in A&E comes in after a fall. Eleven-year-old Archie has tripped and fallen up a step at the school library and has badly cut his lip. Archie's worried about stitches, but he's also concerned about his rumbling tummy; he hasn't had his favourite dinner of chicken and chips. Kevin, a 57-year-old tree surgeon, has fallen off a stepladder, landing heavily on a sharp metal bar, and he's struggling to breathe. His wife June knows that he will never be a 'sitting in the armchair reading a book' kind of guy, but it's hard for her to see him in pain and the doctors are concerned he has punctured his lung. John, who's 53, has fallen down a flight of steps at the south London hostel where he lives. He's been drinking heavily and has a deep wound on the top of his head. John's first love was music, but he has hit hard times in recent years, including drugs and living on the streets. Meanwhile, 31-year-old barman Ross has fallen and smashed his head against a wall. He was leaving a club after an alcohol-fuelled work night out. He's fractured his eye socket and has a possible bleed on his brain, but the full extent of the damage won't be clear until he sobers up.
#19 - Twilight
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 8/7/2013
This moving episode looks at the start and end of life, as well as the joys and fears of living alone. Seventy-five-year-old Graham is brought in to A&E having been the victim of a random attack - he's been stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors by a stranger on his doorstep. Graham is also vulnerable because he suffers from schizophrenia. Meanwhile, 89-year-old Pat, a former nursery nurse, arrives having been found at the bottom of her stairs with no recollection of how she got there. Mum of five Cheryl has brought her four-year-old son Dylan into King's as he's struggling to breathe. Then things get even worse as Cheryl's eldest son Saner also has to be rushed in for treatment for a severe asthma attack.
#20 - Night Shift
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 8/14/2013
On a busy Saturday night the A&E staff have to juggle the needs of elderly patients and sick children with patients who are drunk or violent. Dr Fleur, who's six months pregnant, is the lead trauma consultant working with senior sister Jen during a hectic night shift in Resus. The department's full and some patients can be challenging. Twelve-year-old Grace has fallen down a flight of stairs and has potentially serious spine and neck injuries. She's brought into Resus by paramedics with her mum Michelle and needs to have a CT scan to assess the extent of the damage. Parents Sarah and Andy have brought in their 10-month-old son Dexter, who's been vomiting, has a high temperature and is unresponsive. Later, 88-year-old Irene is brought in by ambulance after suffering with chest pains through the night. As she reflects about growing up in London during the war, her son Stuart faces up to the fact that his own role in the family is changing. Meanwhile, clinical site manager Gordon has worked at Kings' for 14 years. He's in charge of the day-to-day running of hospital resources, including the hospital beds. When senior sister Jen notices that he has a bloodshot eye she suggests he gets his blood pressure checked. Further tests reveal news that changes Gordon's life.
#21 - Worst Case Scenario
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 8/28/2013
This episode focuses on men of all ages facing illness and their fears. Seventy-nine-year-old Arthur has been brought to Resus after complaining of stomach pains. The medics are trying to work out which of his underlying conditions could be to blame: he's on kidney dialysis, and has an existing ulcer and an enlarged aorta (the major artery in the heart). But Arthur's not one for complaining; he's known tough times. As a boy, Arthur was evacuated from London during the Blitz, but was brought back by his mother. 'She said "If we're going to die, we may as well die in our own home"', he says. Arthur's daughter Debbie talks proudly about her father's positive attitude to life. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Tom, who works as a wine merchant, is rushed into A&E after collapsing with acute chest pain and difficulty breathing. Tom's normally fit and well, and has no history of a heart condition or respiratory problems. Doctors are uncertain of the underlying cause of his pain. Tom's dad Bob was understandably seriously worried to get the call from A&E. And retired soldier Rockey has come to King's with his wife Cordelia after experiencing blurred vision. Rockey, who was born in Guyana, is worried it could be a detached retina, which could lead to blindness. But Rockey does tend to be a glass-half-full kind of person, perhaps with good reason.